Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Mandy with our dog, Cody, enjoying the weekend sunshine in our back yard. Notice the teen and her laptop - a common scene around here and an example of the moments I love to capture and record...By the way, Cody had his doggy sunglasses on moments before this pic was taken, but he lost them when he chased a squirrel out of our yard...

One of the reasons I started scrapbooking is to capture the everyday, routine (and not-so-routine) moments that are easily forgotten. I'm not very good with words so keeping a diary or written journal can be a bit of a chore for me, whereas capturing these fleeting moments with a camera and documenting them in a creative way really makes my heart sing. So I think I'm going to give this idea from Ali Edwards a go - "A Week in the Life" next week. I thought I would post the link here so you can have a peek if you don't know about it yet. What do you think? It will take a little effort and planning, but I have a feeling it will be worth it...

It's been a busy week. My friend's mom passed away unexpectedly last weekend and I've been wanting to spend lots of girlfriend time with her. They were so close and if there is any beauty to be seen in this situation, it's her attempt to extend the bond they shared even after her mom's death. I'm also working on a term paper that's due tomorrow night; this ought to be interesting...I'm not quite suer how that's going to happen but - oh well...I guess I'll just go with the flow...Hope you're all doing well.

I'll leave you with a few things I've been dabbling with.

These layouts are from the February Citrus Tree Studio kit. Here's a photo of the kit:and here's my 2 layouts. Very simple and clean...I'm starting to dig that style right now.

I know it's weird taking a picture of someone eating, but I couldn't resist this shot. My girls and I stopped by the tea room for a quick lunch. My 16 year-old ordered a wrap not realizing how big it was. When they put this big sandwich in front of her she wasn't sure if she should use a knife and fork or just cave in and eat it with her hands. In the end she ditched her utensils and even though she was starving, she refused to snarf it all down (which is what I would have done!). She was perfectly proper and very neat. Yep, that's my Mandy, always the lady regardless of the circumstances; one of the many things I love about her!

Title Alphas are from my stash.

Our Westie is a bit spoiled (but we love him anyway!)..he really knows how to ham it up when the girls give him even the slightest bit of attention.

and this will be a gift for my sweet friend who just lost her mom:and lastly this is a decorated tin with a little mini inside to remind me of how beautiful nature is this time of year (I'm studying Wordsworth in school so I'm kinda on a nature kick right now). I'll post more pics when I've decorated the enclosed mini.That's it for now. By the way, I want to thank you all for your sweet comments. I love hearing from you and I've enjoyed visiting your blogs as well. You guys are so creative and fun to visit. See you in a few days!

xoxoCris

PS. Prima is having a DT call...so all you Prima lovers out there...start your engines!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Was playing with my new Prima stash today. These new papers are amazing! I'm trying my best NOT to hoard this stuff but resistance is futile....right? I used a bit of the Strawberry Kisses, Raspberry Tea and Shabby Chic lines on the layout below, and I ordered them from HERE

This photo was taken on my birthday in 2008. I love it because it was rather impromptu (the waitress just grabbed my camera from the table and said "hey, why don't I take a picture of all you guys?") and celebrates our mixed family heritage.Here a a few close-ups:

I'm completely in love with my Prima papers!

Hope you all are enjoying a few days of warm weather wherever you are. We reached 80 degrees on Long Island today. WOO-HOO!! My kind of weather - loved it...Thanks for stopping by! xoxo

Monday, April 5, 2010

I love Easter! It's a time of celebration and prayer at our house so I usually opt for Christian-themed decor, instead of the usual bunnies or chicks, but this year I found a couple of really cute projects I wanted to try. Truth be told, my original plan was to make a few handmade cards with my new Prima stash, and a centerpiece for my kitchen table (Martha Stewart had some great Easter craft ideas on her site HERE), but that bright idea went right out the window when Saturday rolled around and I still hadn't started anything. So I made these little baskets instead. They were fun to do and looked great as favors on our dinner table. I also made a few with a more masculine feel for all the adult men (they appreciated that!). You can see the how-to HERE - thanks Melanie for telling me about this site! (FYI - I used "Chinet" drinking cups instead of the Solo brand that is recommended in the video - couldn't find the Solo cups).

And because I've been in "banner" mode lately I couldn't resist this cute little Jenni Bowlin Easter project. I had to change the papers around a little...wish you could see this in person; it's so sweet!

Well it's back to folding my laundry. Sometimes I feel like I'm doing this way too much - aren't teenagers programmed to fold laundry and wash dishes at some point in their lives? hmmm...

Sunday, April 4, 2010

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I love to capture everyday moments in a creative way. I'm into anything old-fashioned and romantic; not sure
why; I guess that's just the way I'm wired. I love the Lord not because I'm good, but because He is....And I try not to take myself too seriously, which is surprisingly easy to do.
When I'm not knee-deep in a project you're likely to find me hanging out at the beach...or in a quiet spot engrossed with a really good book. Thanks for stopping by and
visiting my little corner of the web. Stay in touch and be blessed...